Gorontalo language

The Gorontalo language (also called Hulontalo) is a language spoken in Gorontalo Province, Sulawesi, Indonesia by the Gorontalo people.^[2] With around one million speakers (2000 census), it is a major language of northern Sulawesi.^[3]

Gorontalo
Bahasa Hulontalo
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Gorontalo North Sulawesi Central Sulawesi
Ethnicity	Gorontalo people
Native speakers	(1 million cited 2000 census)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Philippine Greater Central Philippine Gorontalo–Mongondow Gorontalic Gorontalo
Writing system	Latin Historically Jawi
Language codes
ISO 639-2	gor
ISO 639-3	gor
Glottolog	goro1259
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Considerable lexical influence comes from Malay, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch,^[4] and the North Halmahera languages.^[4][5] The Gorontalo region used to be controlled by the Sultanate of Ternate.^[4] Manado Malay and Indonesian are also spoken in the area.^[4][6] Despite its relatively large number of speakers, Gorontalo is under much pressure from Malay varieties, especially in urban settings.^[3]

Sizable Gorontalo communities can be found in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, as well as Jakarta.^[4]

Classification

Map of languages on the island of Sulawesi. The Gorontalic languages are marked in pink along with the Mongondowic languages

The Gorontalo language belongs to the Gorontalic language group, which is part of the Gorontalo-Mongondow languages family, a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family, which in turn is a branch of the Austronesian language family.

Languages that are related to Gorontalo include Suwawa, Bolango, Buol, Bintauna, Kaidipang, and Lolak.

Dialects

Musa Kasim et al. (1981) give five main dialects of Gorontalo: east Gorontalo, Limboto, Gorontolo City, west Gorontalo, and Tilamuta.

Distinctive Features

One of the most prominent features of the Gorontalo language is the use of a vowel (a, i, u, e, o) at the end of every word. Examples include: mela (red), huyi (night), tuluhu (sleep), rasipede (bicycle), and bongo (coconut).

Influence on pronunciation in Indonesian

Additionally, the influence of the Gorontalo language is strongly evident in the pronunciation of words in Indonesian. In some verbs and nouns in Indonesian that contain the letter "E", the pronunciation automatically shifts to "O" in Gorontalo Malay. Examples include:

• bolajar (belajar - to study)
• posawat (pesawat - airplane)
• moncuci (mencuci - to wash)
• mongapa (mengapa - why)

This influence on Indonesian pronunciation is considered a distinctive characteristic of Gorontalo Malay.

Phonology

Gorontalo is characterized by several highly unusual sound changes, including PMP *s → Gorontalo t; *n → l; *k → ʔ; *mb, *nd → m, n; *bu → hu. Also, there are also vowel changes, such as *a turning into o (/ *b_) or e (/ {*d, *g}_); prosthesis of original initial vowels with w- or y- (before *i); and epenthesis of final consonants with -o (*anak → wala'o "child").^[7]

Consonants

Gorontalo consonants

		labial	alveolar		palatal	velar	glottal
nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
plosive	voiceless	p	t	d̠	c	k	ʔ
	voiced	b	d		ɟ	ɡ
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ
sonorant	plain	w	r		j		h
	lateral		l

Consonant sequences include NC (homorganic nasal–plosive), where C may be /b d t d̠ ɟ ɡ k/. Elsewhere, /b d/ are relatively rare and only occur before high vowels. /d̠/, written ⟨ḓ⟩ in linguistic study materials, but not distinguished from ⟨d⟩ elsewhere, is a laminal post-alveolar coronal stop that is indeterminate as to voicing. The phonemic status of [ʔ] is unclear; if [VʔV] is interpreted as vowel sequences /VV/, then this contrasts with long vowels (where the two V's are the same) and vowel sequences separated by linking glides (where the two V's are different).

Vowels

Gorontalo has five vowels.^[8]

Gorontalo vowels

	front	central	back
high	i		u
mid	e		o
low		a

Stress

Gorontalo words are stressed on the penultimate syllable, regardless of structure: momikiirangi "think", momikiirangipo "think before (doing something)".^[8]

Literature

The manuscript in Gorontalo language written by J.G.F. Riedel in 1870

One of the oldest manuscripts in the Gorontalo language that has been discovered is titled Utiya tilingolowa lo pilu lo tau lota ohu-uwo lo pilu boito. Below the title of this book is written poliama 1870, which indicates the year the manuscript was written. The term poliama refers to the ancient astronomical knowledge of the Gorontalo people, based on the movements of celestial bodies, which was practiced in activities such as farming, building a new house, moving, marriage, and more. This manuscript was written by Johan Gerhard Frederich Riedel, the eldest son of the Dutch missionary J.F. Riedel.

Another relatively old book about the Gorontalo language was written by Wilhelm Joest, a world traveler and ethnographer from Germany. The book is titled Das Holontalo: Glossar und grammatische Skizze; ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Sprachen von Celebes, printed in Berlin in 1883.

Literary works

The Gorontalo people have long been familiar with various literary works, particularly oral literature that has been passed down from generation to generation. Some forms of oral literature that can still be found in the daily life of the Gorontalo community are:

1. Tanggomo: Narrative poetry not bound by lines, containing information about real events or true folklore.
2. Tuja'i: Rhyming poetry that contains praises, religious advice, and customary wisdom.
3. Leningo: Poetry consisting of proverbs, wise words, or expressions that can serve as life guidance.
4. Lumadu: Verse consisting of one or two sentences that convey principles of life and the character of the Gorontalo people.
5. Taleningo: Poetry that provides advice about death, birth, and preparation for the afterlife.
6. Tinilo: Gorontalo pantun that contains praises, entertainment, prayers, history, and calls for good deeds.

The biggest challenge for these various forms of oral literature in Gorontalo is empowering the younger generation to preserve the literary and cultural heritage of their ancestors, which is increasingly being eroded by the passage of time. One of the greatest difficulties in efforts to preserve the various forms of Gorontalo oral literature is the limited cadre of oral literature practitioners, as it is only spoken and memorized by performers, cultural figures, or local elders. This has led to the scarcity of written texts documenting Gorontalo oral literature.

The only and very limited references related to Gorontalo oral literature can be traced back to the arrival of Islamic preachers and Dutch colonizers in Gorontalo, who introduced various forms of written works as mediums of writing and communication for the Gorontalo people.

Vocabulary

Family tree

Gorontalo language	English
Ti Bapu	grandfather
Ti Nene	grandmother
Tiyamo, Ti Papa, Ti Sebe	father
Tilo, Ti Mama, Ti Ajus	mother
Ti Om	uncle
Ti Tante	aunt
Ti Kaka	older brother
Ti Tata	older sister
Te Uti, Te Nunu	younger brother
Ti No'u, Ti Pi'i	younger sister

Note: The words Ti and Te are forms of address commonly used by the Gorontalo people when referring to or addressing someone.

• The word Ti is added when addressing a woman or an older, respected person (as a sign of respect and honor).
• The word Te is added when addressing a man or a younger male and is also used for male peers.

Numbers

Gorontalo language		English
Cardinal	Ordinal	Cardinal	Ordinal
Tuwawu	Oyinta	one	first
Duluwo	Oluwo	two	second
Totolu	Otulu	three	third
Wopatu	Opato	four	fourth
Limo	Olimo	five	fifth
Wolomo	Olomo	six	sixth
Pitu	Opitu	seven	seventh
Walu	Owalu	eight	eighth
Tiyo	Otiyo	nine	ninth
Mopulu	Opulu	ten	tenth